Food and the Anti-Christ pt.2.

This is the second of a four part series.
The first post should be right below this one, and If I remember when this posts ...well, posts, I will include a link here  Link

but will probably forget (no really, I remembered Go me!!!)

After reading about the passage in mark, and Jesus rebuking people for setting aside the commands of God... Many people then ask about Peter and his vision. HE had this vision from God where God lowered a sheet down and on the sheet there was all these animals... You know what, I'm just gonna post it so we can walk through it together. ( or you can read it yourself in Acts 10)

GIANT CHUNK OF SCRIPTURE WARNING ( you don't want to read it, skip ahead to the part where it says, start reading here again)(...why  does a big chunk of scripture need a warning?)

¹ Now there was a man at Caesarea named Cornelius, a centurion of what was called the Italian cohort, ² a devout man and one who feared God with all his household, and gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. ³ About the ninth hour of the day he clearly saw in a vision an angel of God who had just come in and said to him, “Cornelius!” ⁴ And fixing his gaze on him and being much alarmed, he said, “What is it, Lord?” And he said to him, “Your prayers and alms have ascended as a memorial before God. ⁵ Now dispatch some men to Joppa and send for a man named Simon, who is also called Peter; ⁶ he is staying with a tanner named Simon, whose house is by the sea.” ⁷ When the angel who was speaking to him had left, he summoned two of his servants and a devout soldier of those who were his personal attendants, ⁸ and after he had explained everything to them, he sent them to Joppa.
 ⁹ On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. ¹⁰ But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; ¹¹ and he *saw the sky opened up, and an  object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, ¹² and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. ¹³ A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” ¹⁴ But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” ¹⁵ Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” ¹⁶ This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.
 ¹⁷ Now while Peter was greatly perplexed in mind as to what the vision which he had seen might be, behold, the men who had been sent by Cornelius, having asked directions for Simon’s house, appeared at the gate; ¹⁸ and calling out, they were asking whether Simon, who was also called Peter, was staying there. ¹⁹ While Peter was reflecting on the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. ²⁰ But get up, go downstairs and accompany them without misgivings, for I have sent them Myself.” ²¹ Peter went down to the men and said, “Behold, I am the one you are looking for; what is the reason for which you have come?” ²² They said, “Cornelius, a centurion, a righteous and God-fearing man well spoken of by the entire nation of the Jews, was divinely directed by a holy angel to send for you to come to his house and hear a message from you.” ²³ So he invited them in and gave them lodging


START READING AGAIN

Alright, lets break this down

We have an Italian man, very very righteous because Italians are awesome, and God gives us favor... er.... uh.....

So, we have an Italian man. Not a Jew, but an Italian man Praying to God and serving him.
This man has a vision, and the message was: Call Pete.

Now in verse 10 God is using Peter's heart to show him something not about food, but about righteousness. God is getting to the point with Peter, because Pete had a habit of refusing to eat with Gentiles because he deemed them unclean. We know that this issue came up for peter at least one other place in scripture because Paul tells us that he got in petes face about this in Galations 2:11-13

I can see how a person can look at this part about all these creatures and think that they are food.  I understand how at  a casual glance that it would look like that. In my previous post, I posted the scriptures where God defined what is clean and what is not, in regards to food.
I believe that peter was there for that part in Mark where Jesus kept rebuking men for not following the commands of God. If that part was God changing his mind and now making everything food, I think that peter would have heard it. If that were the case, perhaps he wouldn't have hesitated to chow down on some creepy crawlers. ( the thought of that turns my guts by the way)  But he protest. He reminds God of what his word says. It's interesting that Peter never killed and ate anything. He could have eaten a deer which is by God's standard food. Food wasn't the point here, the heart was the point.

Now the parallel here to Mark is interesting.  In both of these passages, we are seeing someone call something God has said is clean, not clean.  Peter had this holier than you attitude that he got sucked into, and he started setting aside the commands of God for the sake of his own traditions... in this case, not eating with gentiles... and considering them unclean. (peter had a habit of not eating with gentiles, so God uses food to make the connection for him)

This is emphasized in verse 17, after God snatching his weird animal slumber party blanket back into heaven. Peter was perplexed by the vision.  He was confused by the vision. Peter knew that the word of God says not to eat certain things because they aren't food. HE knew that God won't go against his own scripture.

So he was confused and trying to understand the meaning... when the Spirit of God showed him, Lucky for him. The gents show up and ask peter for a house call. He invites them in to hear the story on how they were sent.

MOAR SCRIPTURE YAY!!! (no really, get excited, it's good stuff)

  And on the next day he got up and went away with them, and some of the brethren from Joppa accompanied him. ²⁴ On the following day he entered Caesarea. Now Cornelius was waiting for them and had called together his relatives and close friends. ²⁵ When Peter entered, Cornelius met him, and fell at his feet and worshiped him. ²⁶ But Peter raised him up, saying, “Stand up; I too am just a man.” ²⁷ As he talked with him, he entered and *found many people assembled. ²⁸ And he said to them, “You yourselves know how unlawful it is for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner or to visit him; and yet God has shown me that I should not call any man unholy or unclean.


So Pete comes into a sold out stadium here. He's rocking a packed house and Speaks saying I'm nothing special... why am I here?
 Then he says " you know how its unlawful for a man who is a Jew to associate with a foreigner"
When he says it is unlawful... He's not speaking about God's law. Not the commands of God.
He's talking about the traditions set in place. Then he states clearly the meaning of the vision.
That even though the Jews make that separation, God doesn't.  It wasn't a seminar about how God showed him that SPAM is some how edible. He states clearly the meaning. We're one in the Messiah.

 That is why I came without even raising any objection when I was sent for. So I ask for what reason you have sent for me.”  ³⁰ Cornelius said, “Four days ago to this hour, I was praying in my house during the ninth hour; and behold, a man stood before me in shining garments, ³¹ and he *said, ‘Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God. ³² Therefore send to Joppa and invite Simon, who is also called Peter, to come to you; he is staying at the house of Simon the tanner by the sea.’ ³³ So I sent for you immediately, and you have been kind enough to come. Now then, we are all here present before God to hear all that you have been commanded by the Lord.”

Gentiles Hear Good News

 ³⁴ Opening his mouth, Peter said:    “I most certainly understand now that God is not one to show partiality, ³⁵ but in every nation the man who fears Him and does what is right is welcome to Him. ³⁶ The word which He sent to the sons of Israel,preaching peace through Jesus Christ (He is Lord of all)— ³⁷ you yourselves know the thing which took place throughout all Judea, starting from Galilee, after the baptism which John proclaimed. ³⁸ You know of ⁽Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, for God was with Him. ³⁹ We are witnesses of all the things He did both in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They also put Him to death by hanging Him on a cross. ⁴⁰God raised Him up on the third day and granted that He become visible, ⁴¹ not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand by God, that is, to us who ate and drank with Him after He arose from the dead. ⁴² And He ordered us to preach to the people, and solemnly to testify that this is the One who has been appointed by God as Judge of the living and the dead. ⁴³ Of Him all the prophets bear witness that through His name everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins.”





Again Peter states that its about not calling the Gentiles unclean. God didn't call them unclean, men did. Just like in Mark. God didn't call bread unclean, Men did. Everyone who believes in his name receives forgiveness of sins.  Everyone. YEAH BUDDY!!!

Go on, get excited. I'll wait..


... go on.

ok.

Then what happens next:

⁴⁴ While Peter was still speaking these words, the Holy Spirit fell upon all those who were listening to the message. ⁴⁵ All the circumcised believers who came with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit had been poured out on the Gentiles also. ⁴⁶ For they were hearing them speaking with tongues and exalting God. Then Peter answered, ⁴⁷ “Surely no one can refuse the water for these to be baptized who have received the Holy Spirit just as we did, can he?” ⁴⁸ And he ordered them to be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ. Then they asked him to stay on for a few days. 


Nothing about animals. Nothing about eating spiders or owls. God said it was gross.
All of this passage is about the fact that God likes Italians just as much as Jews. God loves all the races, because when they are his people, they are HIS PEOPLE. HIS PEOPLE are cleaned.
HIS PEOPLE have had their sins forgiven. His PEOPLE, all of them, of Jewish decent by birth or not, had the spirit of God poured out on them.

Peter had been guilty of putting down God's people based on race. Pete had a touch of the racism.

After all of that, what was next for Peter?
Did he go out an proclaim that God changed his mind about eating shrimp cocktail?

Chapter 11. The retelling of the events to his crew.

¹ Now the apostles andthe brethren who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. ² And when Peter came up to Jerusalem, those who were circumcised took issue with him, ³ saying, “You went to uncircumcised men and ate with them.” ⁴ But Peter began speaking and proceeded to explain to them in orderly sequence, saying, ⁵ “I was in the city of Joppa praying; and in a trance I saw a vision, an object coming down like a great sheet lowered by four corners from the sky; and it came right down to me, ⁶ and when I had fixed my gaze on it and was observing it I saw the four-footed animals of the earth and the wild beasts and the crawling creatures and the birds of the air. ⁷ I also heard a voice saying to me, ‘Get up, Peter; kill and eat.’ ⁸ But I said, ‘By no means, Lord, for nothing unholy or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ ⁹ But a voice from heaven answered a second time, ‘What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.’ ¹⁰ This happened three times, and everything was drawn back up into the sky. ¹¹ And behold, at that moment three men appeared at the house in which we were staying, having been sent to me from Caesarea. ¹² The Spirit told me to go with them without misgivings.These six brethren also went with me and we entered the man’s house. ¹³ And he reported to us how he had seen the angel standing in his house, and saying, ‘Send to Joppa and have Simon, who is also called Peter, brought here; ¹⁴ and he will speak words to you by which you will be saved, you and all your household.’ ¹⁵ And as I began to speak,the Holy Spirit fell upon them just as He did upon us at the beginning. ¹⁶ And I remembered the word of the Lord, how He used to say, ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ ¹⁷ Therefore if God gave to them the same gift as He gave to us also after believing in the Lord Jesus Christ, who was I that I could stand in God’s way?” ¹⁸ When they heard this, they quieted down and glorified God, saying, “Well then, God has granted to the Gentiles also the repentance that leads to life.” 

Having heard the entire story they didn't  get up and say "God has Made  ham food now."
They Glorified God, and quieted the grumblings that said that a man of Stature, a Jew, isn't to associate with a lowlife commoner unclean Gentile.  They Praised God for the life of the gentiles.


God spoke to Peter in a language that would make the loudest point. 


Turkey bacon is better anyway.

in the next Blog, I will talk about Romans 14, Paul, Daniel and the Anti-Christ.

Food and the Anti-Christ. pt .1

In this one I am going heavy on the scriptures. So if the bible bores you and you don't want to look stuff up in bible gateway to check my work, you may want to pass on this one.  This is a study where I lay some things out for the consideration of God's people. Now I don't claim to be scholar of any sort. In fact I have often touted that I am just some jerk with a bible and a belief.
Read it. Think about it. Pray about it.... and if you believe that it is wrong, then go as the Lord our God may lead you.  If you wish to discuss this, in honesty and humility, I will be more than happy to indulge discussion. For sake of digestibility (heh because it is about food) I have broken this into a 4 part blog.

Buckle up, this is going to be a long one.

This post is mostly about food.

Recently I have been out and about with friends who are believers at various eateries and they notices when I say that I don't eat certain things. Pretty much every time I say no bacon, I get a look like I have some how betrayed my country as an American or I am looked on with bewilderment. "You don't eat bacon?" they ask. " I do not. Nor do I eat pork or shellfish or owl or snake and what not"   From that point some curious few will ask why, and I will explain what brought me to my convictions from the scriptures. Others, however, often appear to have a preconceived notion of why I don't do something and some how see it as me not having knowledge of what the bible says and how we have liberty to eat what ever it is that we want.

Sometimes they'll say, "We're under grace, what you are talking about is being under the law" and much like Vizzini from the princess bride, I do not think that means what they think it means.

Let me ask this question:  Why do you obey God?

Do you follow God to be saved
or
Do you follow God because you are saved

When God saved me I was steeped in sin. A various cocktail of it, and I was chugging away. He took a hold of me and cleaned me up. HE said walk with me. Live this way. I'm going to help you, and when you fall, my grace and mercy will cover you while you get back up and keep walking.

There is an entire long long long blog on how the Law teaches us how to live like Jesus, but that will be written at a later date. I now want to get back to my point.

There are pretty much 4 spots that the believer goes to to show from a biblical text How they believe that it doesn't matter what you eat... period. I understand how that might look like that if you isolate certain texts. I will be happy to provide the texts here, and I will show why I do not think they mean we commonly think that they do. I will also provide the proof texts for harmony of scripture ( that I believe fits. )

The four passages are
Mark 7 ( Jesus made all foods clean)
Acts 10 ( peters vision of all the animals)
Romans 14 ( one weaker eats, and let no man regard you about days)
Colossians 2 ( let no one judge about food or sabbath) 

In this first Post, I am going to talk about this passage in mark, as I promised in a previous post I would discuss that.

This is the text as it reads in the NASB on bible gateway.  I am going to take the liberty of underlining a few points of emphasis.

¹ The Pharisees and some of the scribes gathered around Him when they had come from Jerusalem, ² and had seen that some of His disciples were eating their bread with impure hands, that is, unwashed. ³ (For the Pharisees and all the Jews do not eat unless they carefully wash their hands, thus observing the traditions of the elders; ⁴ and when they come from the market place, they do not eat unless they cleanse themselves; and there are many other things which they have received in order to observe, such as the washing of cups and pitchers and copper pots.) ⁵ The Pharisees and the scribes *asked Him, “Why do Your disciples not walk according to the tradition of the elders, but eat their bread with impure hands?” ⁶ And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
   ‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME.
⁷ ‘BUT IN VAIN DO THEY WORSHIP ME,
TEACHING AS DOCTRINES THE PRECEPTS OF MEN.’
   ⁸ Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
 ⁹ He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition. ¹⁰ For Moses said, ‘HONOR YOUR FATHER AND YOUR MOTHER’; and, ‘HE WHO SPEAKS EVIL OF FATHER OR MOTHER, IS TO BE PUT TO DEATH’; ¹¹ but you say, ‘If a man says to his father or his mother, whatever I have that would help you is Corban (that is to say, given to God),’ ¹² you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother; ¹³ thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

 ¹⁴ After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: ¹⁵ there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man. ¹⁶ If anyone has ears to hear, let him hear.”]  ¹⁷ When he had left the crowd and entered the house, His disciples questioned Him about the parable. ¹⁸ And He *said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him, ¹⁹ because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?” (Thus He declared all foods clean.) ²⁰ And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man. ²¹ For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, ²² deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride and foolishness. ²³ All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.”




Ok, So what is going on here?

Jesus rebuked people for setting aside of the commands of God for their own way.
He then goes on to rebuke them for setting aside the commands of God.
After that, there is more rebukes for setting aside the commands of God.

From just that, I would think that we are not to set asides the commands of God right? He really seemed to drive that point home.


Then he starts talking about the heart.

"Your heart is far from me. "

he gives an example of how they set aside the command to honor your mother and father, for sake of their own tradition.... because he rebuked them.


Now he goes into this discussion about how it isn't what goes into you that defiles you, it is what comes out of your heart.

In another post I touched on the sin in the garden, and how every sin since then has really been the same sin in differing subtexts. The sin of disobedience.
God said don't eat of this tree.  They ate anyway. It wasn't the fruit that killed them ( in my opinion) it was the choice to do something contrary to what God had commanded.

Here, the Pharisees come to Jesus and his crew with a sense of self-righteousness, and pride. They say, Do the things that we are doing, and their actions were equating traditions as being on equal or greater par than what what God had set for the standard.  That is kinda a really big deal, to equate your words and ways and wisdom as being equivalent to the creator of the universe. But they were... and they wanted people to follow their ways as equal.
Jesus points out how this is what is defiling them. Rejecting God's way for theirs.

Now, let me touch on that parenthetical part about Jesus making all foods clean. There are a few points I want to make on this. First, is that that part is commentary by the translator, and is not in fact, scripture. The King James version ( old school) doesn't have that part where they added to the word of God. ( I read a scripture about doing that, and long story short, we shouldn't do that. )

Why does that matter? I'm glad you asked, in your mind... don't pretend like you didn't.

In today's age there are tons of things that we eat and assume they are food. We can see from scripture that God wants our hearts, and he wants them completely right?  He wants involvement in our lives. He cares about our money. He cares about our modesty in how we dress. He cares about us being set apart to him right?  I believe that he cares about what we are eating.

take a look at this passage: ( warning GIANT CHUNK OF SCRIPTURE ... Its leviticus 11, if you wanna read it later, Just jump down to the big bold letters that say START READING HERE AGAIN)

Leviticus 11.
¹ The LORD spoke again to Moses and to Aaron, saying to them, ² “Speak to the sons of Israel, saying, These are the creatures which you may eat from all the animals that are on the earth. ³ Whatever divides a hoof, thus making split hoofs, and chews the cud, among the animals, that you may eat. ⁴ Nevertheless, you are not to eat of these, among those which chew the cud, or among those which divide the hoof: the camel, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you. ⁵ Likewise, the shaphan, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; ⁶ the^]rabbit also, for though it chews cud, it does not divide the hoof, it is unclean to you; ⁷ and the pig, for though it divides the hoof, thus making a split hoof, it does not chew cud, it is unclean to you. ⁸ You shall not eat of their flesh nor touch their carcasses; they are unclean to you.

( interjection here... Isn't intresting that when Jesus cast out the Demons, not only did they go into pigs that are not to be eaten... but those pigs ran into the ocean and drown themselves thus making so nobody had to touch their dead pig guts)

 ⁹ ‘These you may eat, whatever is in the water: all that have fins and scales, those in the water, in the seas or in the rivers, you may eat. ¹⁰ But whatever is in the seas and in the rivers that does not have fins and scales among all the teeming life of the water, and among all the living creatures that are in the water, they are detestable things to you, ¹¹ and they shall be abhorrent to you; you may not eat of their flesh, and their carcasses you shall detest. ¹² Whatever in the water does not have fins and scales is abhorrent to you. (even the floating bodies of demon pigs)


It keeps going on like that for the rest of the chapter.... so, if you want to read it, please do.



START READING HERE AGAIN



So, from God's mouth he tells us that there are things that ARE food, and there are things that AREN'T food. Somethings are DETESTABLE. The book of Isaiah is a book of prophecy and one in particular caught my eye about what is coming, right before God makes the New heaven and New earth ( which I think CNN would have covered had that happened yet... I could be wrong, they are a little shade on the T.V. )

¹⁵ For behold, the LORD will come in fire  And His chariots like the whirlwind,
To render His anger with fury, , And His rebuke with flames of fire.
¹⁶ For the LORD will execute judgment by fire
And by His sword on all flesh,
And those slain by the LORD will be many.
¹⁷ “Those who sanctify and purify themselves to go to the gardens, Following one in the center,
Who eat swine’s flesh, detestable things and mice,
Will come to an end altogether,” declares the LORD.



So What about Jesus back in Mark 7. Is he teaching people not to listen to God's word in Leviticus 11?  I do not believe that Jesus was a hypocrite. I really don't. I don't think he rebuked not keeping the commands of God and then didn't follow the commands of God.
I really don't think that he asked us to live like him, the way he does what the father does... and then doesn't do as the father.  I just don't think that is how it went
Is Jesus telling us to act like those whom are to be destroyed by God for ... well.. to put it plainly... setting aside the commands of God, and going their own way.  being sanctified to things they chose instead of God

This is what it means to sanctify :

To give social or moral sanction to.
To set apart for sacred use; consecrate.
To make productive of holiness or spiritual blessing.

Do we have the authority to change what God has said? I personally don't think we do.
Do we have the authority to say what is clean and unclean? What is holy and what is not holy?


I honestly don't think that we do.

I do not believe that God screwed up and then sent his son to fix it.God knows what he is doing better than I do.I can't break his command and still be in submission to that very command.

I could be wrong. I have been wrong in my view of scripture before... and I doubt that was the last time. I'm so grateful for Jesus grace and mercy when I am, and I rely on it as He is molding me into His image.

I wrote all this not to scare anyone, I don't want you to freak out and think that I am saying that you are going to hell for eating bacon... because nowhere in this post do I believe I said anything like that.

In the next post I will be addressing Peter's vision regarding food, so bear with me. After that I will get to Paul.

Apathists.

I've been a part of three sets of faiths thus far in my life. They have all ascribed to the God of the Bible so that never changed too much, really the separation is in the details. I started in apathy. I believed that there was God. not just any God, but I have always believed in the christian God. I believed, but as  many Christians, I didn't know much about him or really care to. Life was life, and I didn't have much of a drive to investigate the need of God, or who He is.  As time went on and my world shook, and cracked, broke and crumbled down bit by bit.

I don't know... I'm pretty sure none of that had to do with what I was thinking about.

I was thinking about love.

All the facets that pertain to such a vast and formless idea.
Love is something sought after and coveted by every single person ( and probably animal) that has graced God's (relatively) green earth.

I was going somewhere in that into. After apathy I transitioned into full blown Christianity. There I sought out God.
Who was this author of love. Who was this one who placed the longing for it into man? What does love look like.
I spent a long time on that subject. What does it mean to love God, and what does it mean to love each other?
And what about things like Grace, and Mercy. These were the most exemplary tools of love that I could fathom. In my days as an apathist  I saw a lot of ugliness. A lot of it perpetuated by my own selfish fallen nature. This mercy and grace in regards to how God loves us was revolutionary to who I was. It was so... not petty. It was too good. It was ... better than fresh baked cookies, or clean laundry... better than puppies and sunshine. This stuff is real.  God loves a broken people.

I should stop now, because the rest of the words that I throw down on the page will all be pointing back to that point.

I think there is a huge deficiency of love in this world.
I think that we as a people ( I'm referring in greatest part to believers here )  suck at the loving part. I think we suck at loving God, and I know we suck a tremendous deal at loving others. We definitely do not love them as we love ourselves ( on a greater scale ) As a Christian, I knew that much of the thrust of Christianity was to love like Jesus. Love like the savior... love because you were loved.  Reach people because he reached out for you. Sacrifice because you were sacrificed for.  That was the message.  That was the mission.
A lot of the people do this.

why would someone leave that place?

I started really reading and trying to understand the bible. I know that isn't a popular concept beyond the guidelines of  pastoral sheltering.  It is their job to study the bible. They get paid to do it. They should know it through and through right. We pay them to help us not get our doctrine out of line. They help keep us within the guides of faith, because lets face it... the bible is a weapon and in untrained hands, a person can hurt themselves with it.

But...   who is making sure that these guys are teaching the right things?  Who is reading their bibles enough to really provide checks and balances in the scriptures? Who is making sure that doctrine is lining up with the biblical text? I had questions about why we did things or didn't do things This caused me to scour the scriptures. This lit a fire under me to know the word of God. And I did. This lead me to the Messianic movement.

The greater collective of the Messianic movement is a group of "Former" Christians, who really began to study the bible and felt a sense of betrayal when the doctrine that they had been fed was not as biblically sound as they once believed. These people ascribe to the belief that once you are saved, as a response to salvation, a person should follow as many of the commands of God as they are able to. They say this because they want to stop sinning.
That is a noble and worthy aspiration, as we are commanded to be holy.
I wonder though if to rid ourselves of sin is the right motive for adherence to the commands of God. What is the focus of the Torah? Isn't it to point to the messiah? What did the Messiah do ( aside from die for the sins of all men). He loved. He loved people and He loved God.We are called to do this same thing.  This is a command that is touted and repeated throughout Messianic communities and congregations pretty much weekly.

Love God, and love your neighbor as yourself.

I hate to sound like a pessimist... I really really do... but, I have to say in all honesty, standing in the Messianic movement, we suck the most at this. I find that such a curious thing. In our haste to surrender everything from system that we came from because of broken doctrine, have we thrown out love too? I mean, sure we talk a big game about love one another... but what is love without sacrifice? I've said it before and I presume that my voice comes across as a needy child... but I see something greatly missing.

God loves a broken people.  Why is that so difficult for us? It would appear that as we started following commands, and purging sin from our lives... we see the sin and " paganism" in everything and we just " can't" love those people. Not in those places. not as they are. Our actions speak the loudest when they say, Clean everything that you are, and become perfect, and then I will love you.  Personally I don't see that as a representation of the love of God. I sin. I'm not even going to try and pretend that I don't. If any of you reading this are really honest with yourselves, i think you will come to that same conclusion.  What was I like before God found me, and started cleaning me up and changing my life through his spirit? I was an ugly hearted good for nothing petty manipulative angry beast steeped in greed and malice. God spoke into my life and he said, walk with me.

Walk with me.

He didn't say, when you get your crap together, then meet me at the destination. He said come with me. He loved me as I am. he accepted me. he loved me. he probably looked forward to where i am now and saw how much of who I was is now dead, and as he looks forward to the future sees how much of who I am now will be gone.

So why can't we as believers see that in people? Why is it that we have such a difficult time loving broken people?
We're broken. I think that if we are honest, we'll admit that too. IS it because we get so hung up trying to pretend that we are not broken? That we don't sin? Are we  consumed with the appearance of holiness and the illusion that we have it together?  Why? Are we selling a faith?

Are we selling a lie?

Sure faith is rewarding. Absolutely it is life more abundantly. Yet it is also a life that guarantees suffering and strife.
I wonder honestly how many of us are still secret apathists, when it comes to the application of God's love.
Are we afraid to be vulnerable? To share with a brother your burdens and your shortcomings, in a sense, is to allow them knowledge of your shame. Maybe that is something. We don't trust each other. how can we love those outside the church, when we have difficulty trusting those within it? When we have difficulty loving those in it?


I feel like I see stuff that, I assume everyone else sees but they don't want to talk about.
If out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, then is the silent mouth a stingy heart? is it lacking? Is it lacking love, is it lacking care?

Are we too silent?

Are we too silent on behalf of others?

Losers

It is four o'clock on a Wednesday morning and I am sitting here listening to Enya on my ipod thinking about the subject matter of this post. After playing far more Tetris Battle on facebook than I would ever really like to admit to the public, I thought that I should get these thoughts down because ideas never keep until morning.

How perfect an intro that  is on a post about being a loser. 

Tonight  ( or yesterday ) I was at a bible study with a riotous crowd of two ( myself included) and "the group" compiled some things that I have had rolling around in the back of my mind for a little bit. ( thanks Scott)

We're funny people in the church in the sense that we're called out of the world, but still we struggle to fit the world within our theology or philosophy or faith.  In my head I see a pyramid, as best as I can describe it, that represents who we want to be.  At the bottom you have all your blue collar drones slinging burgers or washing windows and the higher up you go, the more you seem to have it all together. Up near the top you got your suits in the penthouse that drive cars that have hood ornaments that cost more than a black market kidney. Everyone on the bottom wants to be up higher. They want the image. The money. The status.

They want to have it all together.


Then we come into faith.  We are called out of the world to be set apart. We call on God for salvation and then what?

More often than not, we keep that mindset that we had about the world. We want to play the game of holiness. At the bottom of the pyramid here are the people with all kinds of problems in their life. Maybe new Christians and what not. These guys make up the lower rung and the higher you go up the pyramid you get to the veteran church goer that has things together. Faith to this guy seems like a reflex. Then at the top is the pastor. This guy is a spiritual power house who has all the answers.  in our minds we think this guy just prays and read the bible all day and he has the spiritual Bat Signal to God. We want to be this guy because everyone comes to him for advice. They wanna spend time with him so that they might catch holy... Or that if maybe this guy sees how good we are, we can feel better about ourselves.


I laughed out loud at several points when I wrote that paragraph. I laughed because I used to think that stuff. I didn't see it for what it was at the time, but in retrospection this is it in its simplest form.  We hate being on the bottom rung because bottom rung guys are all grunts. Nobody want to be the grunt. Grunts are losers.

Now I've been in the church for a while and I tell you the only reason I could see all this is because I did it all wrong. I wanted to be on top and I fought to get there and I boasted about how much better I could do it and blah blah blah blaaaah blah. When I got into a position of authority, God showed me something. Something so basic. Something so simple.

What it means to lead, is to lose everything for those that follow. 

I used to see it, again like a pyramid... where you had the church at the bottom, then the staff, then the pastor and above the pastor is God.

Its actually backwards.  It's God, then the pastor, and then the staff, and then the church.
You lead from the bottom. It isn't glamorous. It isn't glorious. It isn't the fancy suits.
It isn't about being in command, its about taking orders.  It is about helping people out of there afflictions, or laying down and suffering with them if you can't. Helping to carry another's burden.  It wasn't until I saw this  that I finally REALLY understood the scripture that says
"who ever seeks to save his life will lose it, who ever loses his life for my sake will gain it"

If we are pushing our way up that pyramid because we want more comfort... then we are all focused on us, Not him, and certainly not his kingdom.

It wasn't until this moment that I realized the shepherding metaphors were speaking of this.

The shepheard that looks after his flock doesn't get out in front and say " All right, everyone, eyes here. I got this. look at me. I am now going to walk. Everyone walk like me. Single file. Lets go. "

He leads from behind them, stepping in the crap. 

When I thought I had it all together is when I realize how proud I was. How off I was.  I realized how much I needed to lose.  I'm still daily trying to process what I need to leave behind, and go out and serve.

We have a tendency to look at the people in the bible like they are super heroes of faith. Like these guys are famous because they never sinned. They all have sparking resumes and you should trust them all with your daughters. We want to be remembered like that. Immortalized in some sort of legend where some courageous act of faith took place, or there was an astounding miracle because of how good we are or how much holier we appear. We look at these people and we think to ourselves that we have to hide our sins so that we might measure up to them.... the irony is that we don't read their stories and see that we're right there with them.

Look at David. The guy is rolling the A list celeb. status in his day as people are singing about how he's killed hundreds of thousands.  Then God takes him on a jungle safari so that he doesn't die at the hands of a jealous king who wants to be top dawg. David refuses to take him on. Yadda yadda yadda, Then there is balance to the force, God makes Dave klng, and he goes for the women (granted it was one woman, but the point stands). Later His son thinks he's got it all together. That he's the man now. Figures Who better to be king that himself. Gotta be top of that pyramid. That didn't end well for him. Spoiler alert... Absolom died.

I can't help but think about how Jesus said " The greatest amongst you is the least."

Then there is Paul. Think about this guy. He's all Harvard of Hebrew school, top of his game. Hebrew of Hebrews of the tribe of Benjamin. Hasn't done a single thing against the Law of God or the oral traditions....  .... ... except for the part where he was murdering people.
.... approvingly.  If that doesn't sound like C.E.O. Material I don't know what does.
So God Mag lights his eyes  and he's blind. He comes to the knowledge that even though he's got it all together, he doesn't really have squat. He decides to become a loser and spends the the next three years learning how all those people he's been killing for his belief of them violating God's commands, was really a major misnomer on his part.*  He gives up his life and starts serving. He loses himself.
Samson. Big dog, forgets God, remembers God and loses his life for him. Loser.

Abraham, Loser.

Moses. Loser.

We want huge things in our lives... but we try and make it happen.
We want miracles, but for all the wrong reasons. We ask for them not for His Glory and purpose... We ask for them so that we can run and tell all our church friends about it.
Not all the time, but a lot of the time.
We want God to move, and do something mighty , but we refuse to let him do it. We don't want to tarnish our image. We don't want others to think we aren't cool. We don't want to look crazy. we don't want to look hyper spiritual. We don't want to this. we don't want to that. We don't want.
We.

We are the problem. not part of the solution.


Lose the image you are going for.
Lose the pride.
Lose the fear.
Lose the greed.
Lose the iron grip you have on steering your life
Lose it all....

... and Gain a better understanding of God.
... and Gain a greater love for your fellow man.
... and Gain humility.
... and Gain a refreshing perspective.
....and Gain a sense of identity in God.


Be a loser.





*This part make me think of the I. R. S. for some reason, but seeing as how its now 5 in the morning, i didn't feel like retooling the joke.

Non-Consensual Evangelism

In this post, it isn't my objective to offend anyone with the comparison that I am about to make, but it is my hope to raise awareness of subject that every believer should take to heart.
The comparison is in no way meant to diminish the trauma or anguish one has experienced.
Reader discretion is advised.
-


I'm sitting here and I am trying to think of how to say what I feel like I need to say. I have the message in mind but it isn't something that I can say carelessly. What I really want is for believers to see is the gravity of their actions of the eternal spectrum, and not take it lightly.
If you know me you know that evangelism and being there for people is a significant part of my life. In the life of the believer we are called to share our faith. We are called to let people know the good news that there is redemption from sin and we can have new life, abundantly.

I was talking to a friend of mine recently about the subject of faith. He was telling me about a guy at his job who was so... lets say zealous, to get other people to know about his faith that he wouldn't let up on it. He would push it on people. He wouldn't listen to what they had to say because as they were speaking he was too busy trying to talk over them in order to push his faith harder upon them.

I see this as very wrong.

In a lot of churches we have this mentality that we have to go out and save the world. We pride ourselves on what we do for the kingdom.  "I went out to the street corner with a bull horn and yelled a message to 500 people about how evil they are and how they are going to hell, then 2 came up our of fear and wanted to know how to escape it."

The kingdom of God is built upon relationships.


Take a moment and think about this comparison.

The first command given to man is to be fruitful and multiply. God tells Adam to go "have relations" with his wife.  This is a good and righteous thing.
We know that when two people are married, That there is that intimacy. There is that relationship.  After they have gotten to know each other and spent time together, THEN they into a covenant, that they both have agreed to.


What is the opposite of this?

Rape. It's defined as :
"the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse."

Rape is such an ugly word, with such a horrible definition, that I almost didn't write this post. However I am compelled for the sake of the kingdom to continue. You may be asking what rape has to do with evangelism and I am working to make that point. AS you go out to share your faith, keep in mind that you have a relationship with God. Through his seeking you, you sought him, you connected and you accepted him, thus you walk together.

He didn't force himself on anyone.
when you are sharing your faith, your heart needs to be treating the event like a courtship. Communicating together. Listening to each other. Facing burdens together. Celebrating together.  In this action you will show who ever you are ministering to, what the Savior is in you.  You show them love.  You show them love by showing them how to love.  Just as God did you.  The goal is to share the relationship you have with God, with them, so that they might know the joy and peace of God in their life.

If you goal is anything other than that... Don't even open your mouth.

If we are going out to "evangelize" to make us feel good. TO make us feel like we are bring something to the kingdom. So that we may boast that we saved someone. That we led them to Christ, ... then how much of what we know of the Gospel is really based off of our selfishness instead of  serving GOD?

So often we go out and we run into a person, or maybe we have known them for years, and we push Jesus on them. We tell them how wrong their life is, without ever knowing them.  We tell them how filthy we they are, by our actions. instead of looking at them like people, we objectify them as a means for our own personal gratification.  We force our beliefs on them, and in doing this we do not giving a good demonstration of  God.Check your heart before you do anything "for" God. Look in Matt 7:21-23

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’



Where does that leave the recipient? It leaves them hurt, and broken. Feeling even more distant from God. It leaves them feeling angry. They didn't see His compassion. They only saw your thirst to appear righteous.

It's like rape.

God is big enough to help some people get past it. Sometimes some people heal and forgive.
but they all remember how they felt.  How you made them feel.

If you want to share the word of God with someone, and they don't want it, then shut up. No means no. Do not push.
Pray, and serve them. Be an example of righteous living. Deal with them with compassion and mercy. Be gracious toward them. You aren't going to change their mind. Only God can change their heart. Your job is to be obedient.

When you learn to serve, you learn to be less selfish. When you serve, people listen. People listen because they can see you care. When people know that you care more than anything, then they will be open to hearing what you have to say.

I write all this in wisdom, having failed at this so many times.  I write this in hopes that you can learn from my failures. That you may examine your heart and how you approach people.

Even if you have a genuine love for people, make sure you aren't going about the wrong way.
The wrong way for the right reasons can still be destructive. Pray about it first. Pray pray pray.

remember when the disciples were fishing, doing everything in their power to catch something, anything... and not getting anywhere. It wasn't until they listened to the Messiah and followed what he instructed that they cast their nets on the other side and pulled up the haul.

There isn't anything wrong with sharing faith. We must share our faith in order to grow. We just have got to be sure that when we initiate, they are open to receive it.


Pray then do.
More God, less you.

Hope and Anguish.

I once saw an add for a pastoral position posted inside a church, that the church I was attending was using while our regular meeting place was otherwise occupied. The note on the wall stated the qualifications that they were looking for was someone with sales experience.

I've always found the notion of selling faith as undesirable. To me, it has always seem manipulative or something. It's like caring more about moving product then it is about the customer. I  have a friend that once made mention about getting into ministry, and the pastor at the time told him that he couldn't until he lost a lot of weight.

I was unaware of the scriptures that state that there was a certain weight prerequisite for ministry.
Modeling, yes. Sales, sure.. some times.  Bringing the good news of a risen Savor to those who are perishing, No.

Who is this Jesus that these people are selling?

I never saw him in a board room or being carried carried off on the shoulders of the team after throwing the winning pass or shooting a 3 pointer at the buzzer.  He didn't dress in Armani suits or drive a range rover.  The Guy I know wasn't after your money, he is after your heart.

He rebuked people for being as white washed tombs, because they had it all together on the outside but inside... they were lacking. Things like compassion. Service. Sacrifice. The elements of love that produce fruit by the spirit.

My Messiah, My Savior, The man that the bible calls Jesus...  scripture says he is the man of sorrows.

He was despised and rejected and forsaken by men, a Man of sorrows and pains, and acquainted with grief and sickness; and like One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we did not appreciate His worth or have any esteem for Him.
our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.


How bittersweet. I find it both terrible, sad, and refreshing. I am so grateful that he knows what it feels like to be alone. He knows what it is like to be rejected. To be abandoned by the ones closest to him when he needed them the most. My heart breaks for that, but it also rejoices.

There is hope in the anguish.  We have hope on behalf of his anguish. 

As a representative of faith, proclaiming the risen Messiah, this Savior who suffered and was called an outcast...The guy who didn't fit the image... The man who looked very unremarkable..
AS ambassadors on his behalf..

Why is it that we aren't going to the hurting and the lost and showing that there is one that understands their brokenness because he felt it. There is one that understands.
No, instead, we slick back our hair and demand that man take upon our image. We say walk this way, talk this way, act this way act this  way and then... Then people will see how Godly you are.


I look at this paradigm and I honestly sometimes wonder ... how many of them are closer to God that we in the church.





.

Family Business

Take a moment and picture this.

There is a daughter who comes home late. There is her father sitting in the living room waiting for her. They have had the discussions and the conversations a million times about curfew and all of the rules of the house.  The father is frustrated because he knows that out there in the dark there are things that will harm his baby girl.
The girl is grounded by her father breaking what he had set in place in order to protect her.  She look at the rules as stupid and arbitrary. She thinks that her father is trying to impede upon her he freedom and liberty to do what she wants. Her father wants his daughter to stay alive, and be healthy and wise. She gets angry and talks about how unjust it is. How she should be allowed to do what ever it is that she wants. Dad is so unfair. Now she is grounded for two weeks.


Is the father really unfair in asking his kid to listen and follow his instructions?Is it really love and looking out for her well being if he decided to say " you know what, lets have no rules or order at all"? I don't think that would be love. I don't think that would be in the kids best interest.
He just wants her to be alive and safe because he loves and cares for her. Who wouldn't  want that for their child.


Lets say that daughter comes back a little late on that same curfew and sees her dad there and says " dad, I know I broke the rules, I am sorry I feel awful about it. Say the dad says,"Yes you've violated my rules, but I am going to cut you some slack. I am going to forgive you and maybe not ground you this time, but please don't let it happen again"



This parallel is us, and God.

God gave us the house rules.  He gave us his commands. HE has given them because he knows that the darkness is death and his path is the path of righteousness and liberty. Anyone who has walked the line of faith for a period of time knows that sin is only pleasurable for a season. After that, it is an anchor to the soul that feels like such a burden.

We, the people of faith, are that rebellious daughter that looks at the words set up by authority and instead of seeing it as a blessing... we make our excuses talking about how those rules impose on our freedom, when in reality they are freedom.
I'm talking about the Law of God.  We look at it as this huge impossible burden to us that is a hindrance to the thought that we should be able to do whatever feels good or what ever WE think is right.

We are called to know and follow what he has set in place. God didn't remove the rules because their was something wrong with them. He didn't change the plan all of the sudden because what he had said was to difficult. He say listed and obey to what I have set before you and you will live.

We whine like its too hard, like a teenager complaining to their parents.  God's word says his commandments are not too hard. Jesus says they are not burdensome. Where is our hang up?
What parent doesn't want what is best for their child?

God tells us in his word specific things about how to dress, like a father who wouldn't let his daughter leave the house like wearing a specific outfit. God tells us what is food and what is not, like a parent tells their child what is healthy and what is not. God tells us how to love and respect him, like a loving parent would. God's commands tell us how we are to treat one another, like a parent teaches their kid to share and to help people in need thus developing character. We are a reflection of Him, and are called to abide in our fathers house.

Again, it comes right back to the heart.

IS out heart totally about how unfair dad is and how we don't want to do what he says because I'm me and I'm a grown up and I know better and HE should treat ME a certain way, because I know what is good and what is not and who does he think HE is....

OR is our heart different. A heart that says My father knows what is best. My father knows what is good for me and what is not. My father has my best interest in mind. My father has a plan for me. I want to grow up and be like him. I want to follow in his footsteps. I hope that I can be a good example to the family name, and when people look at me they might say something like

"You're just like your dad" .


What a humble blessing that would be in this context.



 

Non-consensual Evangelism.

In this post, it isn't my objective to offend anyone with the comparison that I am about to make, but it is my hope to raise awareness of subject that every believer should take to heart.
The comparison is in no way meant to diminish the trauma or anguish one has experienced.
Reader discretion is advised.
-


I'm sitting here and I am trying to think of how to say what I feel like I need to say. I have the message in mind but it isn't something that I can say carelessly. What I really want is for believers to see is the gravity of their actions of the eternal spectrum, and not take it lightly.
If you know me you know that evangelism and being there for people is a significant part of my life. In the life of the believer we are called to share our faith. We are called to let people know the good news that there is redemption from sin and we can have new life, abundantly.

I was talking to a friend of mine recently about the subject of faith. He was telling me about a guy at his job who was so... lets say zealous, to get other people to know about his faith that he wouldn't let up on it. He would push it on people. He wouldn't listen to what they had to say because as they were speaking he was too busy trying to talk over them in order to push his faith harder upon them.

I see this as very wrong.

In a lot of churches we have this mentality that we have to go out and save the world. We pride ourselves on what we do for the kingdom.  "I went out to the street corner with a bull horn and yelled a message to 500 people about how evil they are and how they are going to hell, then 2 came up our of fear and wanted to know how to escape it."

The kingdom of God is built upon relationships.


Take a moment and think about this comparison.

The first command given to man is to be fruitful and multiply. God tells Adam to go "have relations" with his wife.  This is a good and righteous thing.
We know that when two people are married, That there is that intimacy. There is that relationship.  After they have gotten to know each other and spent time together, THEN they into a covenant, that they both have agreed to.


What is the opposite of this?

Rape. It's defined as :
"the unlawful compelling of a person through physical force or duress to have sexual intercourse."

Rape is such an ugly word, with such a horrible definition, that I almost didn't write this post. However I am compelled for the sake of the kingdom to continue. You may be asking what rape has to do with evangelism and I am working to make that point. AS you go out to share your faith, keep in mind that you have a relationship with God. Through his seeking you, you sought him, you connected and you accepted him, thus you walk together.

He didn't force himself on anyone.
when you are sharing your faith, your heart needs to be treating the event like a courtship. Communicating together. Listening to each other. Facing burdens together. Celebrating together.  In this action you will show who ever you are ministering to, what the Savior is in you.  You show them love.  You show them love by showing them how to love.  Just as God did you.  The goal is to share the relationship you have with God, with them, so that they might know the joy and peace of God in their life.

If you goal is anything other than that... Don't even open your mouth.

If we are going out to "evangelize" to make us feel good. TO make us feel like we are bring something to the kingdom. So that we may boast that we saved someone. That we led them to Christ, ... then how much of what we know of the Gospel is really based off of our selfishness instead of  serving GOD?

So often we go out and we run into a person, or maybe we have known them for years, and we push Jesus on them. We tell them how wrong their life is, without ever knowing them.  We tell them how filthy we they are, by our actions. instead of looking at them like people, we objectify them as a means for our own personal gratification.  We force our beliefs on them, and in doing this we do not giving a good demonstration of  God.Check your heart before you do anything "for" God. Look in Matt 7:21-23

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter. Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; DEPART FROM ME, YOU WHO PRACTICE LAWLESSNESS.’



Where does that leave the recipient? It leaves them hurt, and broken. Feeling even more distant from God. It leaves them feeling angry. They didn't see His compassion. They only saw your thirst to appear righteous.

It's like rape.

God is big enough to help some people get past it. Sometimes some people heal and forgive.
but they all remember how they felt.  How you made them feel.

If you want to share the word of God with someone, and they don't want it, then shut up. No means no. Do not push.
Pray, and serve them. Be an example of righteous living. Deal with them with compassion and mercy. Be gracious toward them. You aren't going to change their mind. Only God can change their heart. Your job is to be obedient.

When you learn to serve, you learn to be less selfish. When you serve, people listen. People listen because they can see you care. When people know that you care more than anything, then they will be open to hearing what you have to say.

I write all this in wisdom, having failed at this so many times.  I write this in hopes that you can learn from my failures. That you may examine your heart and how you approach people.

Even if you have a genuine love for people, make sure you aren't going about the wrong way.
The wrong way for the right reasons can still be destructive. Pray about it first. Pray pray pray.

remember when the disciples were fishing, doing everything in their power to catch something, anything... and not getting anywhere. It wasn't until they listened to the Messiah and followed what he instructed that they cast their nets on the other side and pulled up the haul.

There isn't anything wrong with sharing faith. We must share our faith in order to grow. We just have got to be sure that when we initiate, they are open to receive it.


Pray then do.
More God, less you.

Absolutely

Honesty is something that I try for in my life. I don't know about you, but I hate being lied to. I'll take the ugly truth over a comforting lie 98 percent of the time. If the ugly truth is something I should change, not telling me isn't going to help. I see things in black in white in that regard.
I see something as either true or false.  I believe in an absolute in that regard. 

I was at a bible study the other day and I got into a discussion with a guy and the topic trailed into the subject of sin ( imagine that at a bible study). The discussion got a little spirited. to the point where It was two notches below arguing, and that was the last place I wanted to be. 
The point of contention was the absoluteness of sin. I believe that something is either a sin, or it is not. The person I was discussing the subject with stated that he believed that sin is relative to the individual. Now I fully admit that I may not have been fully understanding the gentleman, as he would speak, and as I tried, I would get three words in before he would reject my opinion without allowing me to clarify the complexity of my point, interjecting with more emphasis on his belief.
Don't get me wrong, though I barely know this guy I can very much see the love and generosity of God flowing through him, but I strongly disagreed with him on that point ( if that was his point, I really might not have understood)

I was talking with another guy about that encounter and I was asking him to relay a message of my respect and love for the individual to him, so he knew that even though we disagree, I value our new friendship. I explained the situation and the points I am about to make, and as I did I wondered if I perhaps, My communication was failing. He asked what does it matter if sin is subjective?
I was about to fully explain my point on why I think it does matter when the guy said its all irrelevant, and then was distracted by another guy in the church. I didn't press the matter any further because I could kinda tell that he didn't really want to talk about it, and I am learning when to speak and when not to ( a post that is coming soon enough on its own)

How do we define sin?

How is sin defined?

I wrote the first question and realized that the second is more important. If you look closely you will see that they are not the same question. One is about what I think something is, and the other is what is the truth regardless of my perceptions.

The first question is How do we define sin?

My interpretation is simple. There is really only one sin. Just one. That is it.IT isn't 613, or 10 or even just  2....  There is really only one sin, by what I see. It is the same sin that was in the garden. It is the same sin we struggle together with today and yesterday and every day of our lives.


That sin, is disobedience to What God has said.


How is sin defined?

*Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness. -1john 3:4
All unrighteousness is sin - 1john:5:17Therefore, to one who knows the right thing to do, and does not do it, to him it is sin - James 4:17

 and so on and so on.


Now, this may seem pointless. This may seem like it doesn't matter and I might be splitting hairs when it comes to definition. Yet, I feel the need to explore it with context so I can better grasp the truth.

Let's take drinking for an example. A lot of believers would say that drinking is a sin. They would read the passages on not being drunk and the cautions of over indulgence of wine or strong drink and state that it is a sin to drink.

But, there are passages in the bible that say that there is nothing wrong with drinking in of itself, and a few places where it recommends drinking. So, is drinking a sin or isn't it?
IF we were to say that it is a sin, then long story short, we are saying that the Messiah is a sinner because he admits that he drank ( luke 7:34)... and if we are saying that he is a sinner, then that means by definition that he isn't the messiah.



Now what about people in recovery? People who know the practice of drunkeness and God has told them that they shouldn't drink... Then doesn't that make drinking a sin?

I kinda still have to say no. It isn't the drinking that is the problem, the sin is the disobedience of what God has said. God tells you not to drink, don't drink. If you did, you would be defying what God has told you. The sin. The one sin.

Let's take a more ambiguous approach. Cheese cake. There is nothing in the bible either for or against cheesecake ( I don't think... I honestly haven't done the exploratory research on that one ... I have biblical support for cake, but cheesecake is really specific. Also it's more of a pie...  what am I talking about, this is completely detracting from my point... Man I want some cheesecake.) So There isn't (for arguments sake) anything in the bible that says don't eat cheese cake.  You going about your life eating away and then God tells you specifically not to do this.
Lets say you do it anyway. Was it the food in your face that is the sin? No. It was the defiance that came out of your heart, that defied what God says. That is the sin.

I think the Master backs me up on this.

**After He called the crowd to Him again, He began saying to them, “Listen to Me, all of you, and understand: there is nothing outside the man which can defile him if it goes into him; but the things which proceed out of the man are what defile the man.
He said to them, “Are you so lacking in understanding also? Do you not understand that whatever goes into the man from outside cannot defile him,  because it does not go into his heart, but into his stomach, and is eliminated?”  And He was saying, “That which proceeds out of the man, that is what defiles the man.  For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed the evil thoughts, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries,  deeds of coveting and wickedness, as well as deceit, sensuality,envy, slander,pride and foolishness.  All these evil things proceed from within and defile the man.” -Mark 7

Why did he say those things were wrong?
Because God said not to do them.


That passage in Mark where he said this stuff... He was rebuking people. Why?

For rejecting what God had said.


the original temptation, and the original sin is this :

"...Did God really say...?"



SO you may still be asking what the point is.  Who cares about the relativity of sin.
The answer is, we should.

Because we are sinners, we need a Savior. 

IF sin was some relative thing that could be shrugged off by a simple definition change..
that kinda really nullifies the Sacrifice on the cross.

...because who among us wouldn't just stand up and say " yeah, none of that stuff I did, is a sin to me.So... that being said... I'm kinda perfect."

Truth is truth if we know it or not.
Thank GOD that he gives us grace as we learn it.

No, really...

Thank God he gives us grace and gives us time to learn and grow, he gives us time to clean our hearts out so we can hear what he is saying. He gives us grace, and mercy, waiting for us to pick up his word and read what he has said.












* If sin is the transgression of the law of God, we may want to know what that is. Something to think about

** I deleted the part in parenthesis from that text that states "and thus Jesus declares all foods clean" because the reason that is in parenthesis is because that isn't scripture. It was added to the text. It can be misleading, because leaving it in there would look like Jesus was saying that everything is food, and that would be contradictory to what God said in Leviticus 11. So, all food is clean but not all things are food. that is a Whole other post though. 

Glass.

I was stumbling or tumbling or something around the internet the other day when I came across a page that was all about advice for life. I saw one piece of advice that said " never let anyone know your weaknesses".

I thought about that... and I think that is wrong.
I think you should let people know your weaknesses. It serves a few purposes. 1) It makes you aware of your weaknesses. 2) It shows you the character of those who wish to exploit your weaknesses. 3) Prompts you to either overcome your weaknesses, or 4) find people who can cover your weaknesses. So my advice tonight is two fold, don't take that first advice, and two, be honest with everyone.

I then thought to go on about my business with more mindless wanderings and musings, but this one stuck to me.  Where do I even begin to describe what is going on in my head. This is literally the stuff that keeps me up at night.There may be no end to what I want to write about that. Every story starts with a word though right. 


Weakness. 

We're taught that it is this evil dark and awful thing.  Every man wants to be the one that is looked upon with all the right moves, and all the sweet words. The strong man. The clever man, who is a solid go getter that you can pass the proverbial ball to and he can execute the play with exact precision. We all want to be super man.  We don't want to disappoint. We don't want to fail.  


But we do.  We do fail.   We do hurt.




We all do.  And I think its in pretending that we don't or that we fail less than others, kills us. 

If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us.
 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His word is not in us.
- 1 john 1:8-10


So.... If we are going along and pretending that we never stumble or that we have it all together all the time, then we are probably not being truthful. IF we aren't honest about our weakness we probably aren't a beacon of humility. 

What does this lack of transparency produce?
 An illusion. A deception.

What would being open about things give?

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort,  who comforts us in all our affliction so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God". - 2 cor. 1:3-4

Having been truly weak we are more compassionate to the weak are we not?
Having been recipients of unmerited favor, shouldn't we be more gracious to others? 

So when we are honest and say " hey, I'm going through something... Or I've gone through something, we are demonstrating honesty and God prepares us to help comfort others.
When we deny this, we don't represent a people that meet the hurts or understands how the world is. No, we come across as disingenuous sales people pushing a product.  We come across as foreign aliens that do not experience the sufferings of lesser mortals.

I don't want to be that .

I don't want to be someone that isn't honest.
I don't want to be someone that refuses to relate to people.





I mean, after all, where would we be if the Savior couldn't relate to us. 

The Silence.

Tonight I sat here in this very spot pouring out my words from my heart into my other private blog, and it felt far more like scraping the burnt off of toast than it did a fluid flow of thoughts.
I wrote a poem that spoke of struggle and Samson making mention of the most terrifying verse in scripture.  Judges 16:20

²⁰ She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him


 I cant think of anything worse than that thought right there. Not knowing that the LORD had departed from him.  I went to a men's bible study and we were talking about courage and being a courageous man of God. Much of the material text is based out of Joshua, and tonight was no exception. Joshua 1:9

⁹ Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous! Do not tremble or be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.”


 The thing that drew me to God in the first place wasn't redemption of sin, which I am grateful for. It wasn't The gift of compassion or the promise that the Holy Spirit would reside in me, which I cherish. It wasn't the testament of his mercy which I wouldn't have survived without...

No, it was this promise given to Joshua in  1:5

No man will be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you; I will not fail you or forsake you

That God would never leave or forsake me.


 I believe that God doesn't change, and that he is the same yesterday today and forever, nor does he go against his word. I've been at war with this. I have fought my thoughts back and forth because I have wanted to be Joshua but often I feel like Samson. When I screw up I feel like God is distant and I try to figure out where I left him. But Joshua... HE keeps God at the forefront of his focus and follows him in battle. I want to be this man in the fluid flesh of the blood in my heart, yet...  I find that I am often Samson. These two men are different.  Look at this example:

Joshua's warning in chapter 23:

⁸ But you are to cling to the LORD your God, as you have done to this day. ⁹ For the LORD has driven out great and strong nations from before you; and as for you, no man has stood before you to this day. ¹⁰ One of your men puts to flight a thousand, for the LORD your God is He who fights for you, just as He ^]promised you. ¹¹ So take diligent heed to yourselves to love the LORD your God.
¹² For if you ever go back and cling to the rest of these nations, these which remain among you, and intermarry with them, so that you associate with them and they with you, ¹³ know with certainty that the LORD your God will not continue to drive these nations out from before you; but they will be a snare and a trap to you, and a whip on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the LORD your God has given you

 I'm pretty sure that was a prophecy for Samson,


 ¹⁸ When Delilah saw that he had told her all that was in his heart, she sent and called the lords of the Philistines, saying, “Come up once more, for he has told me all that is in his heart.” Then the lords of the Philistines came up to her and brought the money in their hands. ¹⁹ She made him sleep on her knees, and called for a man and had him shave off the seven locks of his hair. Then she began to afflict him, and his strength left him. ²⁰ She said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” And he awoke from his sleep and said, “I will go out as at other times and shake myself free.” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. ²¹ Then the Philistines seized him and gouged out his eyes; and they brought him down to Gaza and bound him with bronze chains, and he was a grinder in the prison. ²² However, the hair of his head began to grow again after it was shaved off.

Now Samson and God reconciled as Samson died...

but I don't want to be that guy.  I don't want to realize that I screwed up and then die. True that is one heck of a way to go out, but I want to be the guy that never let God out of my sight to begin with.  I want to be that guy... but I'm not.

My heart gets crusty. My eyes go blind. I wonder where God has gone... and why he left. 
I know he didn't really leave, but he goes silent. I hate that part.  Why does he do it?
I believe that God goes quiet to test our hearts to see if we will follow his word.
That is spoken of a few times in Judges 3 and other places.

I know I fail at this all the time.   God goes quiet and I turn to sin.  He tests my heart and my heart is wicked. My spirit gets so disappointed in my flesh. My heart is crusty and crumbly, like a burnt log after the fire dies down. I don't want to be the ashen remains of a man on fire for God. I want to burn with a passion to live like him.  The Josh and the Sam in me are at war... and they both are amazing fighters.  Yet only one slayed giants.

This is my prayer. The prayer of a giant slayer.That God always be my focus, even when the lights go out. That no destruction befall me due to my own negligence.

Swords and Guns and stuff.

“I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  Jesus ( John 16:12) 




I read this chapter this morning and this passage stood out to me. It nearly leapt of the digital page as if it were one of those magic eye puzzles and after going cross eyes I could finally see the real picture.
I remember when I was a kid, my sister and I hated each other. Actually, I think she loved me, but I was a jerk. We would go around getting each other in trouble and pointing the finger at everything that each one did wrong then scurrying off to tell mom. I'm sure this is something universal in all children with their brothers and sisters.  There are a mixture of motives, justice, self righteousness, or even the actual warning of consequence for the benefit of the transgressor. I remember telling on my sister for things and my mom getting mad at me for tattling. When I was younger that didn't make much sense to me, because SHE was doing wrong... why wouldn't mom want to know about that? We've already established that I was a jerk right? Yeah? Just making sure.


Brothers and sisters still do that. I'm talking about the kingdom here. Brothers and sisters of God. We play the role of the spirit and we pick of the word of God and we tell people what they are doing wrong. We point the finger, and we sit back in our chairs and smile brightly at how we've done right by wielding the word of God like a sword, having just stabbed someone with it. We revel in rebukes because after all, God must now favor us for exposing the sin of everyone else. 


"I have many more things to say... but you cannot bear them now" 

I think about this often...
How we demand things of others that they aren't ready for. We hold them to a stander that they cannot possibly reach for reasons that aren't the purest of nature.  What if when we saw an issue with someone, we loved them. We served them and helped build them up so that they could get to a place where they could handle all the rest of the the issues before them?
What if we did that for ourselves?

Support.

Imagine if instead of stabbing one another with the sword that is the word of God, we used to it parry the arrows and the attacks of the enemy.

Many have heard me liken the spiritual struggle as soldiers all trying to take a hill under enemy fire. We get shot up and we are wounded. The last thing you need when you have a hole in your side, is someone in your platoon not only watching you bleed, but shooting at you. 

I'm not saying that we shouldn't address sin if we see it in our brothers and sisters, because after all.. If the soldier walking behind me is pointing their gun at their face and the safety on the rifle is off, its is a disaster for EVERYONE. What I am saying is that there are times to speak. There are ways to speak. There are heart checks that we ourselves need to perform before we even open our mouths to speak out about the sin of another, because if we do it wrong its going to be a disaster.
I imagine a surgeon trying to remove a bullet from a wound. If he doesn't make sure that his equipment is clean, that wound is going to get worse. If he doesn't make sure he is in the right frame of mind, then his hand is going to shake and he is going to cause nerve damage.


"I have many more things to say... but you cannot bear them now" 




There is a man that I quietly respect ( I'm pretty sure he thinks that I am an idiot because he doesn't know me all that well, and his limited interaction with me has been me making jokes with his kids) who said that if you are going to rebuke someone for their sin, you must be ready to die for them. 
That is a profound bit of truth. What if before we spoke, we were ready to give all of ourselves. 


We need to get to the place were we are more aware. We cannot win a war righteously with the actions and tactics of our enemy.